This paper uses data from children's literature and classroom narratives to consider hyperactivity, inattention, and other non-normative behaviors in children. It encourages educational thinkers and childhood mental health professionals to take a historical perspective on children's badness rather than consigning it to the realm of pathology. Juxtaposing behavior of ADHD-diagnosed children, as well as their overall experiences in school, to classic children's novels that show hyperactive, distractible, or otherwise aberrant behavior, the paper shows the danger and limitations of diagnosis as a lens for viewing childhood. The paper criticizes neurological and psychodynamic approaches that insist on controlling badness via diagnosis, failing to allow children space to tarry with badness. In particular, the paper argues that behaviors frequently associated with ADHD are conducive to creativity and openness in ways that must not be overlooked by professionals working with children.